Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that it “coordinated” 220 attacks with allies in the region, targeting US- and Israel-linked sites, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The IRGC said the operations were conducted across the “resistance fronts,” including 87 by Hezbollah in Lebanon, 23 by Iraqi groups, and 110 drone and missile operations by Iranian armed forces.

The operations “mark the beginning of a ‘different era’ and a new front," said the IRGC, against US and Israeli “aggressors.”

Ministers from Hezbollah and its ally Amal boycotted Lebanon's cabinet session in protest over the government declaring the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, a Lebanese official told AFP.

The two Shia parties have a combined four ministers, with one independent Shia also represented in the cabinet present at the meeting, the official said, as the spat over the Iranian diplomat's expulsion escalated.

The Israeli army has renewed its warning to residents in southern Lebanon to evacuate areas south of the Zahrani River, as Tel Aviv continued its offensive in the Arab country.

“Strikes are ongoing as the army operates with significant force in the area,” military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement on X.

He called on residents to evacuate their homes “immediately” and move north of the Zahrani River “for their safety,” citing Hezbollah activities in the area.

A World Health Organization official has called for an immediate halt to hostilities in the Middle East, warning that a regional health crisis is “unfolding in real time.”

Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said health systems across the region are under severe strain and that medical facilities must be treated as safe havens.

“The situation has been quite difficult for some time, but what we’re seeing today is just an actual regional health crisis unfolding in real time in multiple parts of this region,” she said.

The United Arab Emirates has said that its air defences had intercepted 15 ballistic missiles and 11 drones from Iran, as regional escalation continues to rage on.

The Defence Ministry reported the attack but did not provide details on injuries or damage.

According to the ministry, air defences had shot down 372 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,826 drones since the start of Iranian attacks on February 28.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned of "immeasurably serious consequences" if nuclear sites are targeted in the Middle East.

Wang's remarks came during a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

"The fighting in the Middle East is spreading and expanding, with its impact spilling over at an accelerated pace," Wang said, while cautioning about the risks of nuclear facilities being targeted, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Poland will cap fuel prices to mitigate the effects of the war in the Middle East, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

He said that VAT on fuel would be cut to 8 percent from 23 percent and that the excise tax would be cut to the minimum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that it was hard to predict the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East, but that some had compared the potential impact to that of the Covid pandemic.

The conflict, Putin said, was causing significant damage to international logistics, production and supply chains while putting intense pressure on hydrocarbon, metals and fertiliser companies.

"The consequences of the conflict in the Middle East are still difficult to accurately predict," Putin told business leaders in Moscow.

"It seems to me that those who are involved in the conflict cannot predict anything themselves, but for us it is even more difficult."

"However, there are already estimates that they can be compared with the coronavirus epidemic," Putin said. "Let me remind you that it has dramatically slowed down the development of all regions and continents, without exception."

The Pentagon is preparing military options for a "final blow" in the Iran war, involving the use of ground forces and massive bombing, according to a report by Axios, citing two US officials and two sources with knowledge of the matter.

According to the report, a "dramatic military escalation" is expected if there is no progress in talks between Tehran and Washington.

The sources said that options such as invading the strategically important islands of Kharg, Larak, Abu Musa, and others, along with a blockade of ships carrying Iranian oil east of the Strait of Hormuz, are on the table.